“The mid-twentieth-century era of a dictatorship is a highly disturbing chapter in the history of civilization. The key development was not only the resurgence of authoritarian rule but also the rise of a particularly ruthless brand of totalitarianism that reached its full realization in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Japan in the 1930’s. Stalin, Hitler, and Japan’s military leaders intervened radically in society and ruled with unprecedented severity” (McKay, History of World Societies, p. 907). Hitler came to power in 1933 in Germany. There are a few reasons why Hitler came to power from his incredible speaking to his many promises. Germany had just been through a war and had lost. With the ending of the war the Treaty of Versailles was a step toward establishing order. “More harshly the Allies declared Germany (with Austria) was responsible for the war and had therefore to pay reparations equal to all civilian damages caused by the war” (McKay, History of World Societies, p. 863). The government opposed and protested this Treaty, but there was no alternative.
With this treaty in effect, living in Germany was very hard. The people of Germany were poor and needed someone to lead them out of this depression they had fallen into. Hitler promised to restore hope and to solve the problems of the depression. To Germans at the time Hitler made sense, uniting everyone.
With Adolf Hitler came his National Socialism movement. National Socialism was shaped by Hitler’s beliefs in German racial superiority and dangers of communism. This totalitarian movement rejected liberalism, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, focusing instead on the subordination of the individual, and the strict obedience to leaders. “National Socialism preached that human races were unequal, and that the German, or “Aryan” race stood at the top” (Pino, class lecture, November 19, 2012).